Western Digital intros 640GB notebook drives

Hard drive company Western Digital said it has started volume shipping of its Scorpio Blue 640GB hard drives.

The 2.5-inch drives use two 320GB platters and are aimed at mainstream notebooks. They boast a claimed 30 percent reduction in overall power consumption from WD's previous generation.

The drives include technology with fancy names - WhisperDrive uses algorithms to cut down noise; ShockGuard is intended to offer the best shock tolerance specification; while IntelliSeek calculates the optimum seek speeds.

The drives are already shipping through distributors and Western Digital resellers with a price around the $100 mark. The drives have a limited three year warranty.